This figure shows the relative change in water availability for irrigation as projected under the A1B emission scenario by the HIRHAM (DMI) regional climate model for 2071-2100 relative to 1961-1990. Light yellow areas indicate no change in water availability.

Vulnerabilities differ across regions, sectors and communities, with pronounced consequences expected in the Mediterranean basin, north-western and central-eastern Europe and the Arctic. Many coastal zones, mountains and areas prone to river floods are particularly vulnerable, as are cities and urban areas. In some sectors and regions new opportunities may occur. However, with increases in both temperatures and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, adverse effects are likely to dominate in the medium to long term.

This report focuses on ways we can use land and
ecosystem accounting techniques to describe and
monitor the consequences of biodiversity loss in
the coastal wetlands of the Mediterranean. These
ecosystems are characterised by the close coupling of
economic, social and ecological processes, and any
accounting system has to represent how these key
elements are linked and change over time. This report
discusses the importance of estimating the ecological
and social costs of maintaining these systems, and the
problems surrounding providing monetary estimates
of the services associated with wetlands. It also shows
how individual wetland socio-ecological systems (SES)
can be defined and mapped using the remotely sensed
land cover information from Corine Land Cover.